MathFest 2008
Undergraduate Student Activities
Wednesday, July 30th
MAA-PME STUDENT RECEPTION
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
MATH JEOPARDY
John Harris, Furman University
Mike Berry, University of Tennessee
Mike Mossinghoff, Davidson College
5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Answer: A fun undergraduate mathematics contest to lead off Mathfest.
Question: What is Mathematics Jeopardy?
Teams scheduled to compete in Math Jeopardy: Hope College, Lafayette College, Mount Union College, and Texas A&M University
Thursday, July 31st
STUDENT HOSPITALITY CENTER
Coordinated by Richard and Araceli Neal
Hosted by the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Student Activities and Chapters
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
MAA LECTURE FOR STUDENTS
SUDOKU: QUESTIONS, VARIATIONS AND RESEARCH
Laura Taalman, James Madison University
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Sudoku puzzles and their variants are linked to many mathematical problems involving combinatorics, Latin squares, magic squares, polyominos, symmetries, computer algorithms, the rook problem, graph colorings, and permutation group theory. In this talk we will explore variations of Sudoku and the many open problems and new results in this new field of recreational mathematics. Many of the problems we will discuss are suitable for undergraduate research projects. Puzzle handouts will be available for all to enjoy!
MAA STUDENT PAPER SESSIONS
J. Lyn Miller, Slippery Rock University
John Hamman, Montgomery College
8:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
PI MU EPSILON STUDENT PAPER SESSIONS
Angela Spalsbury, Youngstown State University
2:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Friday, August 1st
STUDENT HOSPITALITY CENTER
Coordinated by Richard and Araceli Neal
Hosted by the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Student Activities and Chapters
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
MAA STUDENT PAPER SESSIONS
J. Lyn Miller, Slippery Rock University
John Hamman, Montgomery College
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
PI MU EPSILON STUDENT PAPER SESSIONS
Angela Spalsbury, Youngstown State University
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
MAA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ACTIVITIES SESSION
WHAT IS THE COLOR OF MY HAT?
Ezra (Bud) Brown, Virginia Tech
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Games involving hats are all the rage these days. In these games, hats of specified colors are placed on players’ heads. You can see the colors of some or all of the other player’s hats, but not your own. In general, the object is to guess your own hat color. In some games, you may only mention a color. In some games you may pass. Wrong guesses may or may not be penalized. Sometimes the players are not allowed to communicate with each other during the game. In each case, players meet in advance and plan a strategy that will allow some maximal number of players to correctly guess the colors of their hats.
During this session we will describe several Hat Games and the participants will act them out. Hats will be provided!
MAA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ACTIVITIES SESSION:
MATHEMATICS IN FORENSICS
Dan Russell, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
When people think of forensic science, most people don't immediately think of the ever increasing role that mathematics plays in solving crimes. This presentation will focus on the many ways that mathematics impacts the forensic community and its ability to aid law enforcement in determining the actual events of a suspected criminal act.
PI MU EPSILON STUDENT BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY
Friday, August 1, 6:00 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.
PI MU EPSILON J. SUTHERLAND FRAME LECTURE:
THE SYMMETRIES OF THINGS
John H. Conway, Princeton University
8:00 p.m. – 8:50 p.m.
"Thurston's Commandment," namely that "Thou shalt not understand the symmetries of a geometrical object save by studying its orbifold" was first used (in fact before Thurston) by Murray MacBeath to enumerate the distinct finite symmetry groups that are possible for objects in space of a most three dimensions (which had been enumerated in another way by Fedorov in the 19th century). The first part of the lecture will describe the resulting groups in terms of a notation I devised some time ago, that also applies to the celebrated 17 crystallographic plane groups. The second part will describe their 3-dimensional analogs, the 219 crystallographic space groups, which were re-enumerated recently by a new method due to Conway, Delgado-Friedrichs, Huson and Thurston. It's all easy, and there will be lots of pictures!
MAA ICE CREAM SOCIAL
9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Besides cake and ice cream, we will recognize all students who gave talks in the MAA Student paper sessions, and award prizes for the best of them. Following last year’s success, a performance by Robert Schneider of the indie rock group Apples in Stereo is expected. All are invited.
Saturday, August 2nd
FINDING A GOOD FIT IN A GRADUATE PROGRAM (Panel Discussion)
Abbe Herzig, SUNY at Albany
8:30 - 10:20
Panel 1: Career Opportunities with an Advanced Degree
Panel 2: How to Find a Good Fit in a Graduate Program
Panel 3: What Graduate Faculty Look For in Applicants
STUDENT HOSPITALITY CENTER
Coordinated by Richard and Araceli Neal
Hosted by the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Student Activities and Chapters
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
MAA MATHEMATICAL CONTEST IN MODELING (MCM) WINNERS
Ben Fusaro, Florida State University
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
About 500 teams, each consisting of three undergraduates, took part in the 2008 MCM in February. The contest consists of two real(istic) scenarios (one discrete, one continuous) that call for analysis and resolution. MAA judges choose one continuous and one discrete winner from the top contenders and subsidize the teams' travel to MathFest, where they will present the results of their four-day challenge.
MATH HORIZONS - MEET THE EDITORS
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Steve Abbott, Middlebury College
Bruce Torrence, Randolph-Macon College
In this informal session the co-editors elect of Math Horizons will be on hand to answer your questions and solicit your input regarding future directions for Math Horizons.
STUDENT PROBLEM SOLVING COMPETITION
Richard Neal, American Society for the Communication of Mathematics
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
This event is the finals of the Problem Solving Competition. Universities and colleges that participate monthly on their own campuses by holding problem solving contests are invited to send a contestant. Each contestant will be required to solve a series of mathematical problems. Based on the outcome, a champion along with 2nd through 6th place winners will be named.
MEET ELVIS, LIVE AND IN-PERSON
Do Dogs Know Calculus? Bifurcations at the Beach
Tim Pennings, Hope College
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
We will show that dogs - at least my dog, Elvis - knows calculus. That is, Elvis can find the optimal - fastest - route to a ball thrown into the water some distance down the beach.
But what happens when Elvis is positioned in the water and retrieves a ball that is also in the water? When should he swim straight to the ball, and when should he swim in to the shore, run along the shore, and then swim back out to the ball? What is the bifurcation point for the change in optimal strategy? Does Elvis bifurcate? Does his fur bicate?
Dr. Elvis (he has an honorary doctorate degree) will be in the building demonstrating that he's indeed the King of Calculus - and much more than a hound dog.
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